ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Communications
“Post-Service engagement of ‘Agniveers’ – DoT sets the ball rolling”
Subsequent to the Government’s transformative announcement on 14th June, 2022 on a 4 year engagement of ‘Agniveers’ by the Armed Forces under the ‘Agnipath Scheme’, Department of Telecom  held a meeting with all the Telecom Service Providers  on date . Ways and means on how the telecom sector in general and TSPs in particular can make use of the talent, discipline and acquired skills of the trained ‘Agniveers’ who will be coming out after 4 years of service with the Armed Forces were discussed at the meeting. Representatives of all the 4 TSPs  attended the meeting along with Senior Officers of DoT. The meeting was chaired by Member at Sanchar Bhawan.
During discussions, some areas were identified in which engagement/ employment of ‘Agniveers’ could be done. These include Optical Fibre Maintenance, Air Conditioning equipment, Provision of infrastructure especially last mile connectivity, Fibre to Home , and in Customer Interface areas. TSPs agreed that the talent pool of trained/skilled and disciplined youth that would become available as a result of this Scheme could be an asset for the country including the telecom sector. It was decided that TSPs would shortly revert with inputs on specific trades/skill sets they were looking for. It could then be explored if training in these specific aspects/areas could be provided to these ‘Agniveers’ during their stint in the Armed Forces so that they are industry-ready, when they complete their Agnipath service.
RKJ/M
(Visitor Counter : 1786
Ministry of Steel
The Union Minister of Steel and Civil Aviation, along with the Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development, visit SAIL Corporate Office during Special Campaign 2.0.
The Union Minister of Steel and Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with the Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, visited the Corporate Office of Steel Authority of India Limited  in New Delhi today . During the visit, the Ministers reviewed the progress of cleanliness in different divisions and sections established on the different floors of the office building . The Ministers were accompanied by Smt. Soma Mondal, Chairman, SAIL, and other Directors of the Company with the senior officers from the Ministry of Steel. During their visit, the Ministers appreciated the cleanliness drive undertaken by SAIL and urged the employees to maintain cleanliness at all times in all spheres as a way of life.
This visit of both the Ministers to the Corporate Office of the Maharatna Company SAIL, was in the backdrop of the "Special Campaign 2.0" launched on October 2nd, 2022 by the Government of India.
Under the "Special Campaign 2.0", activities relating to cleanliness, review & simplification of rules & procedures, review of record management system, productive use of space and disposal of waste materials ,enhancing work place experience are being undertaken at all steel plants and units of SAIL.
Ministry of Heavy Industries
Hon’ble Minister of State for Power & Heavy Industries inaugurates Webinar on ‘Power Plant Flexibilisation - A Key to Grid Stability’ at BHEL, Bengaluru
As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, Sh. Krishan Pal Gurjar, Hon'ble Union Minister of State for Power & Heavy Industries, inaugurated a webinar on ’Power Plant Flexibilisation – A Key to Grid Stability’ and ‘Industry 4.0 – Success with Smart Solutions’, held at BHEL’s Electronics Division, Bengaluru, today. Inaugurated via video conferencing, the webinar was graced by senior officials of BHEL’s customer organisations, industry associations and technology partners. More than 800 participants logged-in to the webinar while several others watched the proceedings through webcast mode.
Speaking on the occasion, the Hon’ble Minister said that BHEL is working towards the progress of the nation by providing superior engineering systems in power and industrial sectors, including products and services. He said that power plant flexibilisation and implementation of Industry 4.0 are important for enhancing power generation with accent on reducing carbon emissions and said that he was glad to know that BHEL has already started offering solutions in the areas of power plant flexibilisation and Industry 4.0 to customers.
Earlier, Dr Nalin Shinghal, CMD, BHEL, while addressing the participants, said that BHEL has made noteworthy efforts towards meeting the infrastructural needs of the nation and referred to the numerous developments taken up in this direction. He also said that BHEL’s Electronics Division, Bengaluru played a key role in offering control systems and IT-based solutions for power plants and Traction.
Addresses were also delivered by Sh. K.V.S. Baba, CMD, POSOCO; Mr. Sami Riekkola, President of Valmet Automation, Finland and Sh. B.C. Mallick Chief Engineer, CEA, besides other eminent speakers from NTPC, Valmet Automation, Steag, IESA, IIT-Chennai and BHEL.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
India’s pharma industry should aim to become health care custodian of the world: Piyush Goyal
Entire pharma industry should work with good manufacturing practices
: Mumbai, April 15, 2022
Union Commerce & Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal has urged the Indian Pharmaceutical industry to work towards becoming the healthcare custodian of the world.
Speaking at the 'Indian Pharma - Global Health Care' Diamond Jubilee Conclave of the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association  in Mumbai today, Shri Goyal said that India is already recognized as the 'pharmacy of the world'. "Diamond Jubilee is a good time to reflect on our achievements and also to plan for the future. It's extremely important that we focus not only on our strengths in the generic sector, but also ensure our backward and forward linkages. lt's important that we try product development, break new grounds" Shri Goyal said.
The Minister spelt out three mantras to economic success: Focus on innovation, Stress on quality and Work with the world market. "International competitiveness will be very important. It is important to keep abreast of new developments and good manufacturing practices” he added.
Shri Goyal further urged the 750 large pharma companies of the country to hand hold the smaller companies and help them become quality manufacturers of good products. He suggested that the GMP  companies may create a fund for this purpose and work out how in a defined time frame we can ensure that the entire pharma industry of India necessarily works with good manufacturing practices.
Referring to the recently concluded FTAs with UAE and Australia, Shri Goyal stated s that the Government has created the pathway for easier approval of their products. "For the first time ever, we have been able to bring in some game changing decisions in the agreements which focuses on non-technical barriers". It is particularly of benefit to the pharma industry, he added and hoped that the industry will be able to use these new agreements for faster approvals. He also noted that the Government has come up with many schemes like the PLI for APIs and for medical devices.
"We have strengthened India's IPR regime. Our domestic patent filing has been more than international filing for the first time in 11 years". Referring to this as a good sign, the Minister said, "Patent applications have increased four times than what it used to be 7-8 years ago".
The Minister noted that India's pharma industry is the fifth largest contributor in exports, having touched 25 billion dollars in March 2022. "The phenomenal growth that we have seen in the last 10 years should be carried forward to ensure that we become self reliant, as global supply chains are becoming more and more unpredictable" he added.
Shri Piyush Goyal complimented India's Pharma Industry for demonstrating utmost positivity amidst adversity caused by the Covid pandemic, by ensuring success of India's massive vaccination drive and also for supplying vaccines and medicines to over 200 countries.
The Minister’s speech may be accessed in this link.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan gives “Innovate for India” mantra to the Scientific Community; asks them to create competitive advantage for India
Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has appealed to the scientific community to Innovate for India  and create competitive advantage to make India Aatmanirbhar. Speaking at the curtain raiser for the 6th India International Science Festival 2020, being organized by the Ministries of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, he called upon the scientists to create products and services which can compete with the best in the world. The theme of the event was “Self-reliant India and Global Welfare.”
Underling the role of science and innovation in the development of any society, Shri Pradhan said that the COVID19 pandemic has once again demonstrated that we have to develop and strengthen our institutional and industrial capacity in scientific knowledge and innovation in all areas. Outlining the Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, he said an Aatmanirbhar Bharat is a Bharat which does not only fulfills its own requirements but also is a beacon of hope for the global community, true to the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbukam.’
Minister Pradhan said that India’s strive to achieve self-reliance cannot be possible without the appropriate use of science and technology for economic development and societal benefit. Through a robust R&D ecosystem, we could develop state-of-the art products and services, make existing systems and processes more efficient. He appealed to the scientific community to integrate India’s rich ancient legacy in advanced scientific concepts and mathematics with modern scientific methods of investigation, to unravel the secrets behind many of these practices and scientifically establish them.
Appreciating the scientific community for driving India’s stride in various areas like space exploration, agriculture, Pharma, Shri Pradhan appealed to them to work even more towards solving real life industry and social problems.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Budget of Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare has gone up more than six times in the past six years: Hardeep S Puri
Procurement of paddy at MSP in Punjab has been 25 percent more than last year
Over Rs 1,10,000 crore transferred directly to the accounts of farmers through PM Kisan Yojana till date
Union Minister Shri Hardeep Puri has stated that the budget of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare has gone up more than six times in the past six years. He added that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has implemented the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee to increase MSP to 1.5 times the cost of production. He highlighted that the amount spent on procurement at MSP went up by 85 per cent in 2014-19 compared to 2009-14. MSP has risen in the range of 40-70 per cent for all major crops in 2020-21 in comparison to 2013-14. He further said that this year, procurement of paddy at MSP in Punjab has been 25 per cent more than last year and 20 per cent more than even the procurement target for this year. He informed that over Rs 1,10,000 crore has been transferred directly to the accounts of farmers through the PM Kisan Yojana and Rs 87,000 crore paid as crop insurance to farmers against a premium of merely Rs 17,450 crore till date.
Union Minister further informed that in 1950, the Indian agriculture sector contributed around 52 per cent to the nation’s gross domestic product , while employing nearly 70 per cent of our entire population. He added that as of 2019, the sector still employed nearly 42 per cent of our total population but contributed only 16 per cent to the GDP, while experiencing a year-on-year growth rate of just 2 per cent.
Referring to a 2018 study by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Shri Puri said that 52.5 per cent of all agricultural households were indebted with an average debt of $1,470 . He added that 30 per cent of our agriculture production continues to get wasted due to a lack of proper cold chain infrastructure. He further said that these factors make up for a quintessentially inefficient supply chain and as a result, consumers do not have a choice of products, wastage is high and prices are highly volatile. He added that at the same time, the Indian farmer is subjected to the vagaries of climate change, markets, middlemen and lack of essential infrastructure.
Shri Puri highlighted that leading agriculture economists have also recommended these reforms, allowing our farmers to sell their produce in the open market. He added that some Indian states have also adopted and implemented these reforms on their own over the years — for example, Bihar, where the agriculture growth average is 6 per cent compared to the national average of just 2 per cent.
Shri Puri stressed that the government has repeatedly requested the farmers to talk and help resolve any of their concerns. He added that states will be allowed to impose taxes on the mandis and even though the government has made time-bound dispute resolution mechanisms, the government has also agreed to give access to civil courts in case of disputes.
PIB Headquarters
Marine exports get quality push as MPEDA sets up new Microbiology lab
Kochi, Feb 9: India’s efforts to achieve its ambitious goal of taking its seafood exports to the next level got a major push today with the Marine Products Export Development Authority  inaugurating its first state-of-the-art microbiology laboratory here.
Unveiling the laboratory, Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries Shri Rameswar Teli said the new microbiology laboratory at MPEDA headquarters would help the seafood sector to overcome the stiff competition in the global export market, particularly on the quality front.
MPEDA Chairman Shri K. S. Srinivas said the laboratory would be used to test all sorts of seafood at various stages, including during production and prior to export, to avoid the presence of any bacteria in seafood. “It will ensure that the exporters are not faced with rejection of their products by any country on the grounds of sub-standard quality,” he noted.
The laboratory was necessitated by the fact that USA, the European Union and other major seafood importers were tightening their quality norms on a regular basis in the interest of the health of their population. This has promoted India’s seafood exporters to go for enhancement of the quality of their products to survive competition.
Shri Teli expressed the hope that all other sectors under the food processing industry, including tea growers in Assam and elsewhere, would go for such a laboratory to promote quality and give a fillip to exports. He was all praise for the experts involved in the setting up of mega food parks in Palakkad and Alappuzha in Kerala, observing that work was going on in full swing.
MPEDA unveiled its laboratory on the third and final day of the 22nd India International Seafood Show organised jointly with the Seafood Export Association of India . “Blue evolution: Beyond Production to Value Addition” was the theme of the biennial event attended by over 1,500 delegates, 50 of them from 12 foreign countries.
MPEDA Secretary Shri B Sreekumar said the authority took just one year to set up the new lab from the conception stage. This microbiology laboratory would be in addition to the already existing conventional facilities.
Shri G Jayapalan from the Export Inspection Council said the new facility would facilitate easy certification of marine products and would go a long way in achieving export targets.
The other laboratories are in Kochi , Bhimavaram and Nellore  and Bhubaneswar .
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Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
MoAs for Light House Projects Under GHTC-India Exchanged between MoHUA and State Govts
Shri Hardeep S Puri Launches CLSS Awas Portal 
Shri. Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State  for Housing and Urban Affairs launched the CLSS Awas Portal . Separately, Memorandum of Agreements  for Light House Projects under GHTC-India were also exchanged between MoHUA and State Government of 6 states viz; Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh at the event. Sh. Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, senior Officers of the Ministry and State Governments, Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of several Banks and Housing Finance Companies were also present.
Speaking at the occasion, Sh. Puri congratulated the team of experts for such exemplary work in last few months on developing the IT based CLSS Awas Portal , particularly to the collective effort put in by theMinistry, Central Nodal Agencies  and Primary Lending Institutions .He expressed that with the launch of CLAP, the grievance of the beneficiaries will be addressed in a much comprehensive, organised and transparent manner. He further highlighted that this software will help other stakeholders to work in synergy for release of subsidy to beneficiaries on time.
For addressing the housing demand of more than 10 million houses by 2022, Government of India launched Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban, in June 2015. To accomplish Housing For All Mission, Global Housing Technology Challenge-India  was launched to get globally acclaimed, alternate and proven construction technologies for speedier and cost-effective construction of affordable housing. The Prime Minister declared 2019-2020 as ‘Construction Technology Year’.
Shri Puri expressed his appreciation to the State Governments for construction of these Light House Projects at Indore, Rajkot, Chennai, Ranchi, Agartala and Lucknow.For LHPs, the Ministry has introduced a Technology Innovation Grant as an additional grant of Rs. 2.0 lakh per house which is over and above of the existing share of Rs 1.5 lakh per house under PMAY .
Shri DurgaShanker Mishra, Secretary,MoHUA shared that the Ministry has developed a web based real time monitoring system called CLAP in which all stakeholders such as MoHUA, CNAs, PLIs and Beneficiaries are integrated. Shri Mishra explained the importance of CLAP portal, as a well-designed concept in using IT based platform to bring transparency and efficiency in release of subsidy to the beneficiaries under CLSS. This Portal will enable processing of individual application, verification at initial stage, release of subsidy, transparency and minimizing grievances.
Speaking about the GHTC and signing of MoAs for LHPs, Shri Mishra highlighted that these LHPs are model housing projects to demonstrate and deliver ready to live-in houses expeditiously than the normal convention construction which are cost-effective, economical, sustainable, climate resilient and superior with better quality of construction.
Prime Minister's Office
PM greets people on Baisakhi
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted people on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said “ May the auspicious festival bring happiness and prosperity in everyone’s lives. This festival has a special link with nature and our hardworking farmers. May our fields flourish and may it inspire us to care for our planet.”
Ministry of Finance
Tariff Value of Edible Oils, Brass Scrap, Poppy Seeds, Areca Nuts, Gold and Sliver notified
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section  of Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 , the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs , being satisfied that it is necessary and expedient so to do, hereby makes the following amendments in the Notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance , No. 36/2001-Customs , dated the 3rd August, 2001, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section-3, Sub-section , vide number S. O. 748 , dated the 3rd August, 2001, namely:-
In the said notification, for TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3, the following Tables shall be substituted, namely: -
TABLE-1
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|
Sl. No.
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|
Chapter/ heading/ sub-heading/tariff item
|
|
Description of goods
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|
Tariff value

|
|

|
|

|
|

|
|

|
|
1
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|
1511 10 00
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|
Crude Palm Oil
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|
514
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2
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1511 90 10
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RBD Palm Oil
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|
546
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3
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1511 90 90
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|
Others – Palm Oil
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|
530
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4
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1511 10 00
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|
Crude Palmolein
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|
552
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5
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1511 90 20
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RBD Palmolein
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|
555
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6
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1511 90 90
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Others – Palmolein
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554
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|
7
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1507 10 00
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|
Crude Soya bean Oil
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|
709
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8
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7404 00 22
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|
Brass Scrap 
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3560
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9
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1207 91 00
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Poppy seeds
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3350
TABLE-2
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Sl. No.
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Chapter/ heading/ sub-heading/tariff item
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Description of goods
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Tariff value

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|

|
|

|
|

|
|

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1
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71 or 98
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Gold, in any form, in respect of which the benefit of entries at serial number 356 and 358 of the Notification No. 50/2017-Customs dated 30.06.2017 is availed
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412 per 10 grams
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2
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71 or 98
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Silver, in any form, in respect of which the benefit of entries at serial number 357 and 359 of the Notification No. 50/2017-Customs dated 30.06.2017 is availed
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465 per kilogram
TABLE-3
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Sl. No.
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Chapter/ heading/ sub-heading/tariff item
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Description of goods
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Tariff value

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1
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080280
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Areca nuts
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3932”
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
92 Eco-Sensitive Zones, 2 Ecologically Sensitive Areas notified in 13 States of Indian Himalayan Region
In order to manage and conserve biodiversity across the Protected Areas, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notifies Eco-Sensitive Zones  around the Protected Areas. As part of wildlife conservation strategy, in the year 2002, it was decided that an area around each Protected Areas, requires to be notified as Eco-Sensitive Zone for creating a buffer as further protection around Protected Areas . The very purpose of declaring ESZ is to create some kind of “Shock Absorber” for the specialized Ecosystem, such as protected areas or other natural sites, to act as transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection. Besides, in order to protect the biodiversity in areas having ecological significance, Ministry also notifies Ecologically Sensitive Areas , which has unique biological resources, which require special attention for their conservation.
Survey and identification of ESZs are conducted by the respective State Governments for consideration of the Central Government for declaration of the ESZs in respective States around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries as per the guidelines formulated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change . On the basis of proposals and recommendations of the State Government, Ministry notifies the ESZs under the Environment  Act, 1986. Section ‘3’ of the ESZ Notification provides the Guidelines for preparation of the Zonal Master Plan  by the respective State Government and mandates preparation of the Tourism Master Plan forming part of Zonal Master Plan on the basis of the Carrying Capacity study of the concerned ESZ. In so far as the 13 States of Indian Himalayan Region are concerned, 2 ESAs and 92 ESZs have been already notified.
This information was given by Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.